Is there anyone holding down a part time job while studying. Would like to hear from people as to how many hours they work, how they organise their time etc. Would it be worth working part time while still at uni.

I'm contracted to work 12 hours a week (although it rarely works out to that). It's mostly at weekends with the odd weekday evening shift, which is good because it means I can basically put it out of my head and concentrate on studying during the week.
I find working good - it gives you some sort of routine.

Up until yesterday, I had a full time job alongside my studies, working 50 hours during the evenings/nights. It gave me time to do 60 hours of university work throughout the week, during the day, and worked fine for me.
It depends, OP, on how you are at handling your time.

(Original post by cpj1987)
Up until yesterday, I had a full time job alongside my studies, working 50 hours during the evenings/nights. It gave me time to do 60 hours of university work throughout the week, during the day, and worked fine for me.
It depends, OP, on how you are at handling your time.

(Original post by cpj1987)
Up until yesterday, I had a full time job alongside my studies, working 50 hours during the evenings/nights. It gave me time to do 60 hours of university work throughout the week, during the day, and worked fine for me.
It depends, OP, on how you are at handling your time.

Wow! That's a lot! What was your work? How did you "switch yourself off" work to concentrate on your studies when it's time for studies?

Does this mean you have no time for movies and hanging out with friends?

I know I was pretty friendless once upon a time ago when I was working and studying (in college) at the same time. College mates just stopped asking me to join them for movies or drinks after I repeatedly said: "Sorry, can't. I have to go to work."

And I found myself spending more time at work than on my studies, because my work was so much more interesting than my studies and life in college! I guess that depends on the nature of the work and the subjects one is studying ...

I am determined to be no more than a packer/waitress/salesgirl this time (no offence meant!) ... if at all I work part-time when I do my MA come Sept 2009!

(Original post by lyncici)
Wow! That's a lot! What was your work? How did you "switch yourself off" work to concentrate on your studies when it's time for studies?

Does this mean you have no time for movies and hanging out with friends?

I didn't really switch off at all, if I'm honest. I was constantly busy, and I had to just keep to my exact schedule so that I knew that after 5pm was paid work time, and before was university work time.
My job was very flexible, so I was able to take time off if I really wanted to, but I enjoyed being busy, and I'm not the type of person to enjoy going out a lot - I live with my best friend anyway, and I'm happier staying in and relaxing than going out (and staying in meant I could earn money AND spend time with friends, as I worked from home).

Still, that era's over now and I'm currently looking for a graduate job as I leave uni next month.

I worked 20 hours a week whilst in sixth form and the first six months whilst at university with Comet at £6.80 an hour. I now work 12 - 15 hours a week with Kleeneze earning more than that and i'm in my first year of uni still. Hope that helps.

How much can an international student hope to earn working part-time max 20 hours a week? Say, as a waitress or shop assistant - a job that I can switch off and not think about once I walk out of my work place?

I'm fluent in English, Malay, Hokkien, Cantonese, Mandarin (in decreasing order!) and will hopefully know enough formal Arabic to hold a conversation by the time I get to the UK.

(Original post by lyncici)
How much can an international student hope to earn working part-time max 20 hours a week? Say, as a waitress or shop assistant - a job that I can switch off and not think about once I walk out of my work place?

I'm fluent in English, Malay, Hokkien, Cantonese, Mandarin (in decreasing order!) and will hopefully know enough formal Arabic to hold a conversation by the time I get to the UK.

Worse case scenario minimum wage, which is £4.70 p/h ish.
Best scenario working for a decent company e.g. Tesco, Sainsbury's or any major retailer: starting salary at £5.50ish to around £6.70 after experience.

I say roughly, cos every employer pays a different rate, and many employers rates change depending on the location.

Furthermore, for part time jobs, having qualifications are near enough irrelavent, its experience they are looking for and so even if your fluent in 5 languages and speak one more you will still probably be beaten by someone with more experience. Also in todays job market with 2.1 million unemployed its going to be tough.

Thank you all for your feedback and sharing your experiences. I'm still deciding as to whether to get a part time job along side my studies which will start in sept. However, it is lovely to hear how others are coping in terms of juggling time around work/studies. Keep it coming!!!!!!!!

(Original post by davireland)
Furthermore, for part time jobs, having qualifications are near enough irrelavent, its experience they are looking for and so even if your fluent in 5 languages and speak one more you will still probably be beaten by someone with more experience. Also in todays job market with 2.1 million unemployed its going to be tough.

Thanks for the tip/guide!

Actually, even before the economy became so bad everywhere, I was prepared to NOT work part-time because I have worked like mad for more than a decade to give myself this chance to EXPERIENCE university life "for real". As you may have noticed, I mentioned somewhere earlier that I was working throughout my time in college - and was constantly having to rush from classes to work. I started working and stopped asking my parents for money since I was 19.

I know it sounds weird, but it's part of "my dream" to work part-time as a waitress or shop assistant!

Having said so, would I be able to offer to work for free if I wanted to just gain work experience?

I had a part time job during my last year of sixth form and have still got it now in my first year of Uni. Now I'm only contracted to work on Saturdays as I have a placement every year which is Mon-Fri, but I usually end up working more than that.

It is doable, and it is sometimes nice to just get out of the studying zone if you like and you get the banter with customers, but then sometimes it can begin to stress you out when you've got managers complaining at you every 5 minutes or awkward customers, hence why I am finding it more and more difficult keeping my mouth shut about how I'm not going to be stuck there forever whereas managers and such are..!

(Original post by mullings1)
Thank you all for your feedback and sharing your experiences. I'm still deciding as to whether to get a part time job along side my studies which will start in sept. However, it is lovely to hear how others are coping in terms of juggling time around work/studies. Keep it coming!!!!!!!!

Speaking from experience, the juggling of time and focus has to do with the nature of the work, and the studies. Once upon a time, I was barely scraping by in my studies because my work was too damn interesting. And since I was paid a daily rate (quite a lot for someone my age then), I woke up each day looking forward to work but had to drag my feet to college instead!

That's why I mention here that this time around, if at all, I'm looking at part-time work that I can "switch off" from once I walk out of my work place - which means the job has to be mentally undemanding, or even physical (manual labour maybe!).

With the hindsight of experience, I've found it helpful to constantly remind myself to ...
- PRIORITISE (by way of sticking a sheet of A4 paper saying so at eye level, and constantly asking myself whether something is "urgent" or "important"); and
- make sacrifices (i.e. be different from the people around me and decide who means the most to me among my family members and relatives).